The Kismetic Strategist — Applying CommonSense 1.0 to Web 2.0

My Secret Efficiency Hack

by Steven on March 10, 2013

…is to not be efficient at all. I suggest “efficiency is the enemy of effectiveness.” — In a recent mastermind, the conversation turned into a sharing of keyboard shortcuts in Excel and Gmail. This seems harmless: improving your ability to use these tools helps you get more out of them and free up time. If [...]

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Jailbreaking the Middle Class and Designing Struggle

by Steven on February 11, 2013

In 2009 I moved from San Jose, California to San Diego, California. I thought location everything, and San Diego had it all: beautiful beaches, some city life, and a university culture with 24 hour coffeeshops. The reality was I never found myself comfortable there: the pace was slower than I wanted, I struggled to find [...]

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How to succeed in life

January 7, 2013

What is the one thing you need to succeed in life? Unless you define success as blissful ignorant middle class suburbia, there is one mindset you must have: Life is a game. This statement goes deep. Strap in. 1. Life is a game, and your pursuit of success is a game. Read “Finite and Infinite Games” [...]

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Running away and reframing

April 17, 2012

Two recent readings have me thinking: On Venkat’s blog, he talks about the individualist desire to run away In Pitch Anything, Oren Klaff discusses alpha framing and beta traps Venkat discusses the desire to run away from home and how that home is more about the psychological elements (including social relationships) than the minimal physical [...]

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How to choose your college major

February 12, 2012

The Dilemma February 2007: I have a dilemma: do I major in Philosophy or Information Systems Management? Every day for weeks I debate this choice internally. Like any homo economicus, I make a list of Pros and Cons for each: Information Systems Management Pros: Obvious career path I’m good at it (3.8 GPA for the major) [...]

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Cliffnotes to Success in Life, 2012 Edition

February 6, 2012

“How to succeed in life” is a complex question, full of nuances and assumptions. But who has time for nuances? Here, instead, is the cliff notes version: Success is about what you do. Every action you take, every day, causes other things. There is no Prince coming to save you. He is busy slaying dragons. [...]

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Coworking in San Diego: The Definitive Guide

July 27, 2011

Coworking in San Diego has been on the rise, with many new spaces offering their rooms and services to budding entrepreneurs. But are you confused about the variety of co-working spaces? Baffled as to which one is the best for you? Here are some recommendations to get you started, based on what you’re looking for [...]

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Lead scoring model – why most fail

April 18, 2011

And how is not this the most reprehensible ignorance, to think that one knows what one does not know? But I, colleagues! in this, perhaps, differ from most marketers; and if I should say that I am in any thing wiser than another, it would be in this, that not having a competent knowledge of [...]

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The last shrewd act of Manny Ramirez, ballplayer

April 11, 2011

Manny Ramirez retired this week amid reports of a second positive drug test. Although some reports portray his stupidity for testing positive, I’m more interested in cleverness of his retirement. Examine this chart: Since 2004, the biggest two stories about Manny were a) being traded from one big market team to another (2008) and b) [...]

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